I had forgotten how unpleasant it was to wake up after being knocked out.

Not that it had happened often, but I would have gladly taken a thousand hangovers instead.
"I see a white light..." I grumbled, immediately shutting my eyes again after squinting for a moment. "There's been a mistake...I should smell brimstone..."

My bed rattled, and before I knew it I had the equivalent to the ruckus of a flock of cockatoos shouting into my ear canal.
"Thank God you're awake!" Present Mic placed a hand on my forehead, which made me become aware of the gauze near my brow. "How are you feeling?! Can I get you anything?!"

Knocking his hand away gently, I forced myself to sit up, yelping as I tried to use my broken wrist.
"Well, for a start, could you tone it down, pistol shrimp? My head hurts..." I mumbled, flipping the blanket aside to see my ankle wrapped up tight.
"Sorry...I'm just really glad you're okay..." The blond spoke again in a slightly lower voice, scooting closer to my bed. "You and Shota really outdid yourselves..."

The mention of his name sent me into a panic, my heart rate monitor screeching in complaint.
"Is he okay?! He's alive, right?!" Blindly, I reached out and grabbed whatever I could, which happened to be the man's ear. "Hizashi, you better not fucking tell me he didn't make it..!" His hand encased mine, and I began to fear the worst.

"No, he's alive, don't worry. Injured, but alive. All Might and the kids managed to get both of you out of there." He went on to explain that Shigaraki and Kurogiri escaped, but I didn't really pay much attention. He only stopped yapping when I began to rip my cords and canula out before trying to get out of the bed. "Woah, hold your horses, chicky-babe! You need to-"

"If you tell me to rest I'll turn you into a garden ornament." I bit back hastily, shuddering when my feet touched the icy floor. "Take me to him. I wanna see for myself." He was hesitant, but held his arm out anyway, leading me out of the room as carefully as possible.
"He's really drugged up, so he won't be able to talk much. You can stay with me if you get released first, of course! Don't have a spare room, but I'm cool to sleep on the couch."

Nodding, I tried to block out the harsh scent of disinfectant and sanitizer, limping and leaning a lot of my weight on the pro beside me.
"Thanks, Hizashi. Would it be okay to bring Fuku and Sashimi? I don't think Shota would want them to be on their own..." Of course he wouldn't. He treated those cats better than any human.

"He'd kill us if we didn't." He chuckled flatly, coming to a stop. "Here he is..." Before I opened my eyes, the steady beeping of a heart monitor bit at my ears, but once I did, it faded away. There were so many bandages, I could barely see him, apart from his thick, oil-slick hair fanned out over the pillow. There was a ventilator in the room, but it wasn't being used, so I prayed that he was recovering.

"Could you, uh...help me over to the chair, Hiza? I'd like to stay a while..." I asked, giving the blond's arm a slight tug. He began to lead me over, his body becoming more tense the closer we got.
"It hurts, seeing him like this. He always tells everyone to be logical, then goes and does the opposite himself..." He sighed, helping me into the chair before straightening up. "Anyway, I've gotta go see Nezu and have a chat...Give me a call if you need anything, alright?"

I thanked him quietly and he patted me on the head and left, leaving me with the comatose man. He'd suffered far more than I had, and I hated it. I should've been able to do more, but all I was able to do was keep that freakish creature distracted for a few measly minutes. Closing my eyes again, more for my own sake than anybody else's, I reached my hand out, gently brushing my fingers through his ebony stream of hair.

"I'm sorry, Sho...I wasn't able to help you much, was I? Me and my dumb mouth probably made things worse...I was so scared. I thought you were going to die, Sho..." I murmured, my injured wrist still throbbing as it sat in my lap.
"You helped...plenty..." When Aizawa spoke, I nearly tipped the chair, yipping under my breath when I put weight on my injured ankle. "Head itches..."

Yeah, he was out of it, alright, but hearing his voice put me at ease. If he was speaking, then he was healing, and that was enough at the moment. Smiling to myself, I moved my hand up, scratching around his scalp until he sighed, signalling relief.
"You look like a mummy." I teased light heartedly, returning to the ends of his hair.

"Don't ever...jump in like that again..." Ignoring my joke, he spoke in a hazy, yet serious voice, barely shifting beneath his wrappings. "I already lost...him...I won't lose you, too..." My chest squeezed, not only at the mention of Shirakumo, but due to how honest the ravonet was being. I knew they cared about me, to a degree, but to be held in a similar regard?

"You dummy, the only thing that could ever kill me would be seeing you in a cat maid costume. I'd laugh myself into the grave." I giggled, though my joke was just a cover.
"Shut up...I'm...serious..." It was obvious he was struggling to stay awake, but he was leaning in to my hand as it stroked his hair, which made me kind of happy, in some sort of way. "You're annoying...but you're our annoying..."

Normally, I would have started a rather obnoxious back and forth debate about not being a belonging, but not this time. I'd quit the smartassery just this once, for his sake.
"I know, Sho...and you're my big, sleepy baby..." I cooed, my knuckle scraping softly against his bandages. "You really should get some more sleep. Hizashi is letting me and the cats stay with him until you're better."

His breathing was so shallow, and each and every time he took in some air, it felt like I was the one struggling. I hadn't had all too many friends in my life. The only ones I had considered true were Aizawa, Yamada and Shirakumo, and having almost lost a second had really shaken me.

"I...had something...to give you today..." My eyes opened, but I kept them trained on the stark white hospital sheets. "There's a small box...on the kitchen counter...at home...Open it...It's for you..." The word 'home' seemed to reverberate down my spine, and I paused my hair stroking, having to wet my lips before speaking.
"Aw, you got me an engagement ring? I knew you secretly loved me."

My joke fell upon deaf ears as Aizawa's head fell slightly to the side, his wrapped cheek resting against my hand. He was asleep again, and despite the want to continue talking to him, I knew he needed as much rest as possible.

Get better, Sho...

---------------------------------------------------

"What's new, pussycat?!" I heaved a sigh as Yamada grabbed poor, unsuspecting Sashimi from the cat tree, squashing her in a constricting hug. "You look so much like Sushi, it's making me a little nostalgic!"

Before heading upstairs to grab my clothes, I limped over to the kitchen, spying the small, rectangular package that Aizawa had mentioned. Hesitantly, I picked it up and studied the bland cardboard for a while before finally deciding to open it.

What the fuck is...

Carefully flipping away the bright (F/C) tissue paper, I had to blink a few times to really understand what it was. A pair of glasses.
"Oh, they're done already?! Neato! Put 'em on!" Yamada made me flinch, as I hadn't realised he had wandered over. Again, I studied the glasses, noting the odd, orangey hue of the lenses.

"Are you gonna explain what these are supposed to be, or what? I already told you guys, stuff like this doesn't work..." I mumbled skeptically, pulling them out and tossing the box back onto the counter.
"Hear me out, babester. Shota had a good, long chat with Power Loader, the head of the Support Department! They did a whole lot of brain storming, and they came up with this! Amber! Pretty cool, huh?!"

Amber..? Why amber..?

The sheer thought seemed preposterous to me, but I was willing to humour them. The worst that could happen was someone being petrified for a half hour or so.
"Wanna be my guinea pig then, Hizashi?" Honestly, I was a little intrigued. They looked like a pair of regular safety glasses, nothing fancy or high tech. Why would they expect this to work?

"Absoposilutely! Hit me with your best glare, missy!" My friend sounded beyond excited, and I took a deep breath as I placed the glasses on my face.
"Well, sorry about this, my dude..." Opening my eyes, I stared directly into Yamada's, but only for a brief moment. Quickly shutting them again, I internally groaned, leaning my back against the counter so I wouldn't accidentally put too much weight on the ankle Recovery Girl had worked on.

This blows...Can't something work for once? At least Shota gave it a shot...

"YEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHHH BABY!" The unexpected shriek of delight made me leap up onto the counter, crying out myself. My eyes shot open once more, and Yamada was grinning like an idiot, dancing around with his hands in the air. "Gotta hand it to those guys! They're super smart! First try and everything!"

It took me a long while to register what was going on, but the moment I did, I felt like I was going to explode. Excitement and relief mixed together in a flurry of emotion, and I leapt off the countertop straight onto the blond's back, squeezing him tightly.
"DID THIS ACTUALLY FUCKING WORK?!"

Grabbing the man's head, I jerked it around and met his eyes, and still he continued to move, his grin almost blinding.
"You better believe it, she-broski!" He laughed, doing a few spins on the spot before letting me hop down. I didn't know how to react. Aizawa had been so sure that he could figure something out, and he had been right. A lifetime of normalcy had been at my fingertips the entire time, and all it had taken was the brain of one greasy man.

"Ah, Shota, you fricken genius! I'm gonna hug the absolute shit out of him in front of the entire class!" I rejoiced, leaping onto Yamada again. "No more feeling my way around anymore! This is amazing!" Spinning me again, the vocal pro cheered with me, but of course, my luck had never been too crash hot. With the speed of our rotation, the glasses flew straight off, and Yamada froze on the spot, prompting me to immediately shut my eyes.

As his grip on me had been tight, I was stuck, with no amount of wriggling able to free me. Groaning, I let my head fall forward and bump against his unnaturally solid chest, my legs dangling like out of sync pendulums.

Note to self...tie those fuckers to my head next time...

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***I remember as a kid reading something about amber being used to look at Medusa. It may have been a fever dream, but I'm rolling with it.

I'm also slowly working through drawing a sexy villains series on my Instagram (So far I've done Dabi, Shigaraki, Spinner, Overhaul, Kurono, Setsuno, Mr. Compress and Gentle), doing Giran at the moment after someone requested it. I appreciate that person 😂

Next Time: Back So Soon?***